"We cannot lose this habit of praying, asking for the whole world, praying for peace," said the cardinal, in an improvised homily at the closing mass of the pilgrimage of May 12 and 13 to the Sanctuary of Cova da Iria.

Leaving the homily he had written for the faithful to read on the internet, he asked "how many countries are at war? How many families are at war?"

"Let us pray for peace in the world," asked Omella, asking "how many countries demand, need peace?", referring, namely, to Ukraine, Russia, the Gaza Strip and territories in Africa.

He then asked the Catholics present at the sanctuary to be missionaries, stressing that "the Pope invites, in the Synod, to evangelization".

Before ending the homily, with an appeal for the faithful not to stop reading the text he had prepared, "because it was better" than his improvisation, Omella urged that "faith not fail" and defended a Church united around the Pope, so that it can be evangelizing.

In the original text distributed to journalists, the Spanish cardinal warned of the conflicts in the world that, quoting Benedict XVI, make humanity "overwhelmed by misery and suffering".

"The world is burning in many places," wrote the Spanish prelate, stressing that Pope Francis "never tires of saying" that the world is "living a third world war in pieces".

For Cardinal Omella, who sees men with "wounded hearts", who sometimes "succumb to the temptation and sin that cause division within families and social environments", the question arises "what can we do in the face of this world that is lost?".

"What can we do to end the wars in Ukraine, in the Holy Land and in so many other places in Africa and the world? What can we do so that people regain joy and hope? How can we overcome this indifference that, so easily (...) makes us live continuously centered on ourselves?", questioned the archbishop of Barcelona.

Juan José Omella also recalled the atmosphere experienced in 1917, at the time of the apparitions, in the midst of World War I, to draw a parallel with the present day.

"Today, unfortunately, we also have many wars all over the world, which worry us. The Portuguese know well that that time was not easy for you or for the European countries. Moreover, in your country these conflicts coincided with a sad religious persecution against Catholics", wrote the Spanish cardinal, recognizing that, "faced with this dramatic situation, many lost hope".

However, "there was a 'small faithful remnant' who trusted fully in God and his promises".

According to Omella, "they were people who, with deep faith and insistence, began a crusade of prayer of the Rosary. They asked the Virgin to return their sons from the war, and they asked her to save Portugal. They trusted in the greatest intercessor".

At this point, he left the challenge to the faithful, who today had to endure some rain at the Sanctuary of Fátima, to join the "humble family that prays and offers itself for the salvation of humanity".

"Faced with this world where peace is threatened, where hope is lost", the archbishop recalled the message left by the Virgin to the little shepherds of Fátima, and which he considers a "precious program" embodied in "conversion, reconciliation, renewal of Christian life, reform of customs, prayer and sacrifice for the conversion of sinners and for the reparation of one's own sins".

Also in the Prayer of the Faithful, the situation in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip was evoked, with a request for peace and for political leaders to be guided "in building a new world".

A prayer was also made for Christians "who are discriminated against or persecuted because of Jesus", so that "they may remain firm as witnesses".

On Sunday night, at the opening ceremonies of the pilgrimage, he had urged Catholics not to be afraid to turn to the Virgin Mary, giving her all their requests and prayers.

Before about 250,000 pilgrims -- a number released by the Sanctuary of Fátima --, among whom was the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Spanish cardinal advised the faithful to, before the Virgin, ask "for world peace and for the conversion of sinners".

For this pilgrimage, the sanctuary received information on the presence of 186 groups of pilgrims, 92 of whom were Portuguese, and there are also registered faithful from 32 foreign countries.

The pilgrimage that ends today, in addition to marking the 107th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady to the three Little Shepherds, in 1917, also evokes the seventh anniversary of the canonization of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who on May 13, 2017 became the youngest non-martyr saints of the Church.

In this context, a "moment of veneration of the two saints" is scheduled for today, at 6 pm, in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima.

Read Also: Archbishop of Barcelona urges Catholics not to be afraid to turn to the Virgin (Portuguese version)